Search MMA Ratings

January 8, 2019

MMA Ratings 2018 Year-End Awards

With 2018 in the books, we here at MMA Ratings have decided to make a list of award winners from last year's fights. Below are those who took home the gold in 10 categories:Fighter of the Year: Daniel Cormier
Anyone besides Daniel Cormier for Fighter of the Year would be the wrong pick here. He 100% deserves this award. After opening the year with a submission win over Volkan Oezdemir to defend the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, Cormier moved up in weight and knocked out Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 to add the UFC heavyweight title to his mantel. At UFC 230, he picked up his third win of the year with a submission over Derrick Lewis. It was an amazing year for DC, and though he did relinquish his light heavyweight title, 2019 should still be a big year for him, with a fight against Brock Lesnar hopefully on the horizon sooner rather than later.

Fight of the Year is also a pretty easy award to hand out, in my opinion. It has to be the war between Yair Rodriguez and Chan Sung Jung, a crazy close fight that ended due to an incredible elbow with just one second left in the fifth round. This could easily double down as the Knockout of the Year as well, but I'll pick something else for that category. But as far as Fight of the Year goes, there was no better fight that captivated audiences like Rodriguez vs. Jung. We may never see a fight end like that ever again.

For Knockout of the Year, I'm going with Amanda Nunes finishing Cris Cyborg at UFC 232 to win the UFC women's featherweight title. The fight only lasted 51 seconds, but Nunes and Cyborg put on a show, with Nunes knocking Cyborg down multiple times and knocking her out cold to take the belt. With the win, Nunes became the first double champion in women's MMA history, and supplanted Cyborg as the greatest female mixed martial artist to ever step into the Octagon.

For the Submission of the Year category, I'm going with Paul Craig defeating Magomed Ankalaev with just one second left in the third round by triangle choke in a fight Craig was about to lose via lopsided decision on the scorecards. It would have been Craig's third loss in a row and he was sure to be cut by the UFC, but instead he picked up a massive win and ended up signing a new contract with the UFC as well as win a bonus award. It was the stuff of dreams for Craig, and a finish that is unlikely to be replicated, as you just don't see UFC fighters tap out that late in a fight.

Comeback of the Year belongs to Derrick Lewis for his incredible third-round knockout over Alexander Volkov at UFC 229. Lewis was about to lose a unanimous decision before landing a bomb with just nine seconds left in the fight and picking up a huge win over Volkov that earned him a title shot against DC at UFC 230. That, plus it got us the famous "my balls was hot" quote.

For my Standout Prospect award, I'm going with Petr Yan. The 25-year-old Russian made his UFC debut last year and went 3-0 with two knockouts, including a TKO win over Douglas Silva de Andrade at UFC 232 that jumped him into the Top 15 at 135 lbs. Yan is an incredibly well-rounded fighter and looks poised to be a top-shelf bantamweight for years to come.

Non-UFC Fighter of the Year: Ryan Bader

All of my previous picks were UFC fighters, so it's only fair to give some love to the other promotions. For my non-UFC Fighter of the Year, I'm taking Ryan Bader. I bet the UFC wishes they didn't let him leave in free agency. Not only did Bader win the Bellator light heavyweight title in 2017, but in 2018 he showed he's a force at heavyweight, with wins over Muhammad Lawal and Matt Mitrione in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix. Bader now meets Fedor Emelianenko in the heavyweight finals at Bellator 214 later this month.

Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Leave a comment below with your thoughts on who should have taken home the awards.